End Citizens United // Let America Vote Action Fund President Tiffany Muller released the following statement in support of the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which Senator Patrick Leahy introduced in the Senate today:
“After a year where voting rights have come under attack in states across the country and an extremist Supreme Court majority further gutted the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Senate took an important step today in the fight to protect the freedom to vote with Senator Leahy’s introduction of the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. We thank Senator Leahy for his long-time leadership on restoring the power of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
“As we face an attack on the freedom to vote with an intensity not seen since the Jim Crow era, the Senate must quickly pass this critical voting rights legislation. The Senate passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 during a time when Black Americans were being systematically denied access to the ballot box. With 33 laws passed in 19 states that will make it harder for communities of color to vote this year alone, passing the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act would prevent further anti-voter laws that racially discriminate against voters.
“This bill, along with the recently introduced Freedom to Vote Act, would ensure that every American has the ability to make their voice and vote heard in our democracy. Together, these bills would protect the freedom to vote, protect access to the ballot box, counter anti-voter bills, protect against efforts to sabotage our elections, including protecting election officials from harassment and preventing voter intimidation, end dark money so billionaires can no longer buy our elections, and stop partisan gerrymandering to ensure fair representation.
“The late Congressman John R. Lewis dedicated his life to advocating for the freedom to vote. In 1965, he famously marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. As a member of Congress, he fought tirelessly to enshrine the freedom to vote into law. The Senate must honor his legacy by passing this bill to restore the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to its full strength and prevent further race-based attacks on voting rights.”
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